Boneless skinless chicken breasts are my favorite go-to ingredient for weeknight meals. They are extremely versatile and good for us too! I remember my mom had one of those cookbooks when I was a kid that had 365 ways to cook chicken. We worked our way through that book more than once, and with each recipe we tried, it gave us new ideas for other recipes we could create on our own.

Of all the chicken recipes we use to make, the stuffed chicken recipes are the ones I had the most fun with. You can stuff chicken with so many different things! For this recipe, I kept it simple using pesto and mozzarella. It’s a simple combination, but it’s so tasty. You can use one of these pesto recipes (classic basil, sun-dried tomato, cilantro or spinach) or buy a jar or package of the pre-made stuff to save a little time.

To get this recipe started, I butterflied open my chicken breasts.

Then I spread the pesto onto the chicken.

Make sure you have a good even coat!

Then place a length of cheese, cut in a 1/2-inch thickness, in the center of the breast.

Secure the chicken with toothpicks.

And finally, coat the chicken in the breadcrumb mixture.

After baking for 30–40 minutes, slice and serve with a simple salad or steamed vegetables.